Microsoft is navigating a turbulent period. The Xbox brand is teetering on the brink of a crisis, strained by leadership that seems overly assured about its vision for the future of gaming.
Meanwhile, early forecasts for the company’s next console are starting to appear, and some analysts are surprisingly bullish. Windows Central journalist Jez Corden outlined his projections, arguing that the forthcoming Xbox — effectively a hybrid PC compatible with Steam, the Epic Games Store, and the Microsoft Store — could become one of Microsoft’s most significant successes.
According to Corden, the market is changing quickly, and if Valve launches its own dedicated console, Microsoft will be best positioned to adapt first. He suggests the upcoming system, reportedly dubbed Xbox Prime, could move around 20 million units in its first year. By comparison, projections for the Nintendo Switch 2 sit near 18 million.
To put that in context — Microsoft’s previous consoles posted these figures (per VGChartz):
- Xbox 360 — 8.5 million;
- Xbox One — 10 million;
- Xbox Series — 11 million.
Corden estimates that roughly 20 million existing Xbox owners will upgrade to the new Windows-based hybrid console within its first year on sale.
Source: iXBT.games